Treasury, opposition benches trade barbs in KP Assembly

Speaker adjourns session for lack of quorum

PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly turned into a fish market on Friday as members from the treasury and opposition benches chanted full-throated slogans against Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and opposition leader Imran Khan.

Deputy Speaker Dr Mehr Taj Roghani, who presided over the session, had to adjourn it for 15 minutes just after the passage of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Commission on the Status of Women Bill, 2016 when Mehmood Jan of the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) pointed out the lack of quorum.

Though the quorum was incomplete from the beginning of the session, nobody pointed it out until the bill was passed.Mehmood Jan intervened and pointed out the lack of quorum when Sardar Aurangzeb Nalotha, parliamentary leader of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), took the floor.

In reaction, the opposition members stood on their seats and started criticising the government.Mufti Janan of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl JUI-F) tore up the copy of the agenda while other members shouted at Mehmood Jan and other treasury members to prevent them from speaking.

The speaker ordered the ringing of the bell for two minutes, but the quorum remained incomplete.Aurangzeb Nalotha said the government was not taking the assembly proceedings seriously and was making mockery of the House. He said Rs1 million was being spent on the assembly session daily. “Is this the change the PTI is talking about?” he asked. He added the government should not waste time and public funds if it was not serious about the assembly proceedings.

He said bills were being passed in haste without any debate.Amid shouts and rumpus, Minister for Mines and Mineral Development Anisa Zeb Tahirkheli told the speaker that the proceedings couldn’t be run if the quorum was incomplete.

At this the speaker adjourned the session till Monday.Following this, the opposition members chanted ‘Go Imran go’ while the treasury members retaliated by chanting ‘Go Nawaz go’ slogans.

Earlier, on a call attention notice, Awami National Party’s parliamentary leader Sardar Hussain Babak raised the issue of ban on commercial activities in the University Town and said people were being harassed and orders given to close down businesses.

He said the government had not made any alternate arrangements for the affected people. He said the government should give some relief to the people of the militancy-hit province instead of closing down businesses.The speaker said it was a matter of importance and formed a committee comprising parliamentary leaders headed by Sardar Hussain Babak to work out a formula regarding commercial activities in the posh University Town and present a report within 10 days.